


1sentence

by tirsynni



Category: Legend of Zelda
Genre: Community: 1sentence, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-21
Updated: 2012-01-28
Packaged: 2017-10-29 21:06:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/324187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tirsynni/pseuds/tirsynni
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Link's and Sheik's story told one sentence at a time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Featuring always-separate!Sheik.

Alpha

 

 ** _#01 – Comfort_** :Throughout Link’s journey, Navi remained his guide, Princess Zelda his goal, Ganondorf his enemy . . . and by the end of it, Sheik’s sharp eyes, gentle hands, and soft voice became his solace.

 ** _#02 – Kiss_** : It took three tries before Link stopped standing and staring when Sheik kissed him; it only took two more times after that before Link managed to successfully kiss him back.

 ** _#03 – Soft_** : Sheik resisted at first but eventually succumbed to Link’s urging—and once his mask fell away, Link discovered the older man’s hair was as soft as he thought.

 ** _#04 – Pain_** : The pair rested outside the old well, catching their breath as Kakariko burned around them, and for the first time in Link’s journey, they were bound by a physical pain as well as a mental one.

 ** _#05 – Potatoes_** : Even without looking, Link knew Sheik was laughing at him from somewhere in the shadows; disgusted, the hero simply glared at the vicious potato that had tripped him and rubbed his toes.

 ** _#06 – Rain_** : In silence, the pair stood in the rain, for once not separated by the shadows, instead relaxing under the same cloudy sky.

 ** _#07 – Chocolate_** : The chocolate had been left in Link’s old home after his adventures in the Forest Temple; he savored every bite, knowing who had left it for him.

 ** _#08 - Happiness_** : As Link listened to Zelda’s speech, he held his own ocarina in his hands, knowing that even as he saved every other person’s happiness, he was leaving his own behind. ** __**

 ** _#09 - Telephone_** : Sheik taught Link another melody, listening as the young hero perfectly played it back to him, and wished secretly to himself that he could teach Link his own melody like the Forest Sage had done. ** __**

 ** _#10 - Ears_** : It took every ounce of cunning and stealth Link had, but he discovered that Sheik’s ears were ticklish . . . and he took advantage of it every time he could.

 ** _#11 - Name_** : Whenever Sheik attempted to call Link the Hero of Time, the young hero would quickly silence him with a kiss, not wanting to hear that title from Sheik’s lips: so Sheik said it whenever he could. ** __**

 ** _#12 - Sensual_** : Gasping, Link broke the surface of Lake Hylia, blue tunic clinging to him and water dripping from his lithe form . . . and Sheik drank in the sight, ashamed and overwhelmed by the force of his desire. ** __**

 ** _#13 - Death_** : From a distance, Sheik watched the princess and the hero converse, knowing the outcome, and feeling something deep within himself die. ** __**

 ** _#14 - Sex_** : A part of Sheik was amused that the warrior who could unflinching take on monster after monster, who could wield the legendary Master Sword, who could inspire a country, blanched at the thought of sex...the rest of him hurt.

 ** _#15 - Touch_** : Even bruised and bleeding, Link never failed to arch into Sheik’s touch, and Sheik never failed to touch him at every opportunity. ** __**

 ** _#16 - Weakness_** : When Link had awoken after the monster’s attack, Sheik had attempted to help him to his feet: Link had immediately pushed him away and hauled himself up. ** __**

 ** _#17 - Tears_** : No matter how much hardship Link faced, Sheik had never seen the warrior cry, and no matter how much he wished it, he couldn’t weep for him: he couldn’t even weep for himself. ** __**

 ** _#18 - Speed_** : After teaching yet another song to Link, Sheik quickly vanished, hiding himself in the trees above, and he watched silently as Link stood helplessly in the now empty spot. ** __**

 ** _#19 - Wind_** : Nothing could compare to Sheik’s amusement when Link played the Song of Storms and danced in the resulting wind . . . except Link’s when he successfully dragged Sheik to join him. ** __**

 ** _#20 - Freedom_** : For a split second, as Sheik vanished yet again, Link desired nothing more than to toss the Master Sword into Lake Hylia and run after him. ** __**

 ** _#21 - Life_** : Sheik gently touched Link’s cheek, and Link leaned into his hand, feeling more alive then than he could ever remember feeling. ** __**

 ** _#22 - Jealousy_** : Hidden away like a dirty secret, Sheik knew that now Princess Zelda was meeting Link in his place, and despite himself, he couldn’t will the dark burn in himself away. ** __**

 ** _#23 - Hands_** : Their first time together, Link finally touched him with his bare hands, and the rough calluses touching his sensitive skin almost drove Sheik mad. ** __**

 ** _#24 - Taste_** : After their first kiss, Link pulled away from Sheik and frowned; as Sheik began to panic, Link asked, “When were you eating strawberries?” ** __**

 ** _#25 - Devotion_** : Link knew he had seven more years before he could meet Sheik again; it was all right: he would wait.

 ** _#26 - Forever_** : Sheik laughed when Link first said “forever,” knowing the hero’s fate; when Link returned to the past, Sheik finally whispered the word back. ** __**

 ** _#27 - Blood_** : Link carelessly wiped the blood away from his wounds, stumbling on in his journey, never realizing how much the sight of those wounds made Sheik ache. ** __**

 ** _#28 - Sickness_** : Sheik kindly held back Link’s hair as the young man puked, even as he commented that the sages had never mentioned this in his job description. ** __**

 ** _#29 - Melody_** : Even before they had their first informal conversation, even before Sheik dared to kiss Link for the first time, the melody of Link’s ocarina and Sheik’s harp bound them. ** __**

 ** _#30 - Star_** : As the Hero of Time, Link was destined to be star that guided their country, but Sheik knew as well as anyone else how quickly a shooting star could burn away. ** __**

 ** _#31 - Home_** : Watching Link mourn his old home in the Kokiri Forest, Sheik wished he had the courage to take its place. ** __**

 ** _#32 - Confusion_** : It took a very, very long twenty minutes before Sheik realized that no, Link knew _nothing_ of sex, and that yes, Sheik would have to explain it . . . in every excruciating detail. ****

 ** _#33 - Fear_** : The Hero of Time was supposed to be fearless, Link knew, so he kept his fear hidden deep inside him, refusing to cling to Sheik no matter how much his heart desired to. ** __**

 ** _#34 - Lightning/Thunder_** : The roar of thunder made Epona squeal and rear and Navi hide in his hat, but in the flash of lightning, Link could see Sheik in the distance, watching over him. ** __**

 ** _#35 - Bonds_** : In a world where the sages governed far more than the people would ever know, Link and Sheik stood apart, bound by their knowledge and their chains. ** __**

 ** _#36 - Market_** : Gripping the Master Sword in his hands even as he slipped around the ReDead, Link wished absently that he could one day walk around the market with Sheik. ** __**

 ** _#37 - Technology_** : Link could both kill and defend with his Longshot, could even use it to move across great distances, but Sheik was still happy enough with his simple needles and had no problem telling Link so. ** __**

 ** _#38 - Gift_** : Link stared at the small top in his hand and asked Sheik how he could fight with it; Sheik only shook his head. ** __**

 ** _#39 - Smile_** : Link loved it when he could make Sheik smile; he only wished the mask wasn’t in the way. ** __**

 ** _#40 - Innocence_** : Watching Link battle his way through the Forest Temple, Sheik could only despair as seven years’ worth of innocence died away in a matter of hours. ** __**

 ** _#41 - Completion_** : With every foe defeated, with every Sage freed, Link grew closer to the end of his quest—and his and Sheik’s separation. ** __**

 ** _#42 - Clouds_** : Sheik knew the forbidding clouds above Death Mountain would call Link like a beacon, and he knew that he would soon see Link again. ** __**

 ** _#43 - Sky_** : Link watched Navi fly out the window, heading for Kokiri Forest, he knew, and he wondered if this was how Sheik felt when he vanished with Zelda into the sky. ** __**

 ** _#44 - Heaven_** : Holding Link’s sleeping form tight in his arms, Sheik knew this moment was forbidden but didn’t care: The Sages’ wrath was worth this moment of heaven. ** __**

 ** _#45 - Hell_** : Sheik behind him and Ganondorf before him, Link knew one way or another he would not win this, and holding Evil’s Bane in his hands, he walked into his own private hell. ** __**

 ** _#46 - Sun_** : Standing in the middle of Lake Hylia, Link obeyed the directions before him and shot for the sun, and the symbolism of it oddly reminded Sheik of his own private quest. **__**

**_#47 - Moon_** : Navi sleeping in his hat and Epona silent beside him, Link rested under the sky and wondered if somewhere, Sheik was staring at the moon, too. ** __**

 ** _#48 - Waves_** : Considering how many times Link had almost drowned in the waters of Lake Hylia, Sheik was still amused when Link stumbled on the lake’s banks and fell into the water, small waves splashing up around him. ** __**

 ** _#49 - Hair_** : Annoyed by it constantly flying in his face during battles, Link grabbed a small knife and started to slice off his hair, only to be stopped by a frantic Sheik. ** __**

 ** _#50 - Supernova_** : The pair made love only once before Link’s battle with Ganondorf, so Sheik did his damnedest to make that night as bright and as fierce as a supernova.


	2. Beta

**_#01 – Walking_** : Before Epona, Link had to run everywhere he wanted to go; after Epona, he rode everywhere he wanted to go; only with Sheik could he walk nowhere.

 ** _#02 – Waltz_** : Dancing in Clocktown with the excited sisters, Link thought of Hyrule and wished he could tell Sheik that he finally learned how to waltz.

 ** _#03 – Wishes_** : Watching Link rest his head on Sheik’s shoulder, Navi fluttered to a nearby tree and whispered quietly under her breath.

 ** _#04 – Wonder_** : From the shadows of the Temple of Time, Sheik watched Link experimentally swing the Master Sword, experimentally move his “new” adult body, and he wistfully speculated how long it would take for that wonder to fade from those blue eyes.

 ** _#05 – Worry:_** Standing alone in the Temple, Ganondorf’s voice still echoing in his ears, Link felt ashamed that it wasn’t the princess who he was worried about.

 ** _#06 – Whimsy_ : **Stunned, Sheik could only stare at Link, water dripping from his clothes and the Ocarina of Time still pressed against Link’s smiling lips.

 ** _#07 - Waste/Wasteland:_** Navi was screeching in his ear, sand burned his bare skin, the sun scorched him through his clothes, but Link couldn’t move, staring at the spot where Sheik had left him . . . again.

 ** _#08 - Whiskey and rum:_** “This,” Sheik dryly informed the sleeping hero, carrying him away from the still drinking Gerudos, “is not hero-like behavior.”

 ** _#09 – War:_** All of Hyrule had long since surrendered to Ganondorf, and Sheik told himself that he was only protective of Link because the elf was the only one who was still willing to fight this war.

 ** _#10 – Weddings_** : “What happens after weddings?” Link curiously asked Malon, and Sheik almost fell off his perch outside the window when the young woman stopped sipping her milk and stared blatantly at him.

 ** _#11 – Birthday_** : Raised as a Kokiri, Link had no concept of birthdays and thus didn’t understand why Sheik occasionally, wistfully spoke of the seven birthdays Link had missed.

 ** _#12 – Blessing_** : Quietly, Sheik had prayed to the goddesses to bless him and Link; when Link vanished, he knew the blessing had not been granted.

 ** _#13 – Bias_** : “She really doesn’t like other people,” Link repeated, examining the bruise on Sheik’s forehead where Epona had headbutt him, but Sheik only glared at the horse, positive that she was smirking at him.

 ** _#14 – Burning_** : Link wrapped his arms around Sheik, shuddering as heat rushed through him: not even Death Mountain compared to this.

 ** _#15 – Breathing_** : Lying quietly beside his sleeping lover, Link examined Sheik’s bare face, his peaceful expression, and just watched him breathe.

 ** _#16 – Breaking_** : The first time Sheik had held Link in his arms was when Link collapsed outside of the Forest Temple, holding his face in his hands and finally realizing all he had lost.

 ** _#17 – Belief_** : Link had not known of the goddesses until Zelda had told him Their tale; he had not trusted in Their existence until he wielded the Master Sword, feeling Their power flooding it; yet he could not believe in Their love and guidance like some had preached, not when he believed in Sheik’s instead.

 ** _#18 – Balloon:_** The balloon bobbing weakly by Sheik’s feet had been an easy and tempting target for Link; unfortunately, Link’s head had then been an automatic target for Sheik’s needles, but at least the make-up had been worth it.

 ** _#19 – Balcony_** : Balancing himself on the balcony high above the Gerudo, Link imagined he could see Sheik in the shadows of one of the buildings, and he waved once at him before jumping down to the ground.

 ** _#20 – Bane_** : Sheik had once picked up the legendary Evil’s Bane, and he felt unworthy of Link when it had burned his hands.

 ** _#21 – Quiet_** : Link was a quiet lover, barely whimpering no matter how hot and aroused he became; in contrast, he could successfully make Sheik cry out—over and over and . . .

 ** _#22 – Quirks_** : Fascinated, Sheik watched as Link bounced on his heels, then swing the Master Sword around, then adjust his clothes, then yawn, then start juggling the Deku Nuts, all for a waiting time of less than five minutes.

 ** _#23 – Question_** : “Are you with me because I’m the Hero or because I’m Link?” Link asked once, only once, and the sleeping Sheikah could not respond.

 ** _#24 – Quarrel_** : Link did not—could not—understand why Sheik grew upset at his recklessness, just as Sheik could not—would not—understand Link’s own disregard for his life.

 ** _#25 – Quitting_** : Stroking Epona’s mane with his too small hands, the forest quiet without Navi’s chattering and Sheik’s soft advice, Link wanted no more than to lay down and stop.

 ** _#26 – Jump_** : Helpless to do anything as Link leaped from the Gerudo balcony to the ground far below, Sheik swore to himself he would have a long talk with Link concerning heights and broken bones.

 ** _#27 – Jester_** : Navi happily teased Link about his blush until Sheik swiped Link’s hat and snatched up Navi in it, and with his mask on, Link couldn’t see that Sheik was blushing, too.

 ** _#28 – Jousting_** : Sheik tried once to spar with Link, and then he spent the next twenty minutes explaining to the youth that not all fights had to end in bloodshed, talking quickly to alleviate the hurt from his lover’s eyes.

 ** _#29 – Jewel_** : “I found it in someone’s house,” Link explained with a shrug, showing the horrified Sheik the glistening rupee.

 ** _#30 – Just_** : “It was just a kiss,” Kafei, exasperated, told Link, watching as the blond stepped away, “nothing important about a kiss,” and Link could only stare at him, thinking of Sheik’s kisses.

 ** _#31 – Smirk_** : Link glared at Sheik, knowing the other man was smirking at him behind his mask, and he rubbed his foot again; Potatoes: 2 – Link: 0.

 ** _#32 – Sorrow_** : _Absence makes the heart grow fonder_ , someone had once told Link, and thirteen years old, years away from his lover, Link knew only that it wasn’t fondness that he was feeling in his heart.

 ** _#33 – Stupidity_** : “I should have known better,” Sheik cut Impa off, turning his back to the other Sheikah, “I never should have gotten close.”

 ** _#34 – Serenade_** : Sitting in Clocktown, knowing he should be moving, fighting, doing _something_ , Link simply held the Ocarina to his lips and played, listening to a familiar lyre and the rush of water in his mind.

 ** _#35 – Sarcasm_** : Sheik listened to Zelda’s non-apologies, listened to her explanations, and had to bite his tongue to prevent his own dark reply.

 ** _#36 – Sordid_** : “Ooooh, oooooh, ooooh, how nasty they are!” Navi kept repeating to herself, never looking away from the pair writhing below her.

 ** _#37 – Soliloquy_** : After Sheik finished yet another speech and held out his lyre, Link put a hand on his hip: “You’re not going to say anything like that the next time you kiss me, are you?” he demanded, ignoring Navi laughing in his hat.

 ** _#38 – Sojourn_** : Watching Link rest on the small island in the middle of the lake, struggling to catch his breath and heal his weary body, Sheik hated himself for having to be the one to call Link back to duty.

 ** _#39 – Share_** : “You don’t have to stay up in that tree,” Link called, warming himself in front of the fire, “ because there’s room enough here for us both.”

 ** _#40 – Solitary_** : Link tried to remember piercing crimson eyes, soft blond hair, and chapped lips, but more and more all he could remember was the sensation of standing alone in the Temple of Time.

 ** _#41 – Nowhere_** : Sheik, curious, had once asked where the Hero was sleeping, and now Sheik wondered if Link was there again, sleeping, alone, in the blinding, cold light.

 ** _#42 – Neutral_** : Listening with half an ear as Navi and Sheik argued about the royal family, Link fluffed the shirt he had stolen from Sheik and made himself comfortable on the ground.

 ** _#43 – Nuance_** : So many small, barely significant changes could have changed their path, and Link wondered if any of those changes, obliviously overlooked, could have made it so he could stay with Sheik.

 ** _#44 – Near_** : Hurt and bleeding, Link was nonetheless comforted that when he stumbled out of the Spirit Temple, Sheik was close enough to catch him.

 ** _#45 – Natural_** : “They’re natural!” Sheik snapped finally, looking away as Link stared at his red eyes, and, confused, Link asked, “What is?”

 ** _#46 – Horizon_** : The bright sun rose again, its golden rays highlighting the lake, but Sheik, looking for something else in the horizon, was unimpressed.

 ** _#47 – Valiant_** : Staring into Sheik’s eyes, feeling the man’s warm, naked body pressed so close to his, knowing that Sheik was just waiting for him to say the okay, Link did not feel the courage or strength or anything for which the Hero was famed, but neither did he care.

 ** _#48 – Virtuous_** : Link’s warm body slick in his arms, Sheik could not help but wonder if his darkness had finally, inextricably tarnished Link’s virtue.

 ** _#49 – Victory_** : Cold, wet, bruised, Link did not feel victorious crawling onto the island in the middle of the lake; after Sheik kissed him, he still didn’t feel victorious, but he decided he preferred this feeling, anyway.

 ** _#50 – Defeat_** : For a long, long time, Sheik silently watched the Temple of Time, only admitting defeat when Impa finally led him away.


End file.
